New Belgium La Folie

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Bottle. vintage 2005. Pours a copper-red body with a medium-sized creamy off-white head. Earthy aroma is vinegary with juicy cherries, oak, and tart green apples. Very lively - oily and juicy cherries...exceedingly dry and complex. Woody with cherry sugars providing a nice balance of sweetness. Superb.
Thanks Derek.

Bottle. WOW!!! Pours a light brown color with some tight white head. Aroma is sour cherries, apple, oak, vinegar, wet hay. Flavor is outta this world, sour cherries, apple, oak, vinegar, some bread notes, vineous. Palate is medium bodied, medium carbonation, finishes dry and ultra tart. Friggen great stuff. Ive been sitting on this one quite a while for a special occasion, and man was it worth it!!!

Shared with (and thanks to) mwsf and beerguy101. Mahogany color with a small foamy beige head. Scent of a cup of Balsamic vinegar with a tablespoon of fruit cocktail syrup served in an oak bowl. Very similar to Rodenbach but with a bit more fruit and a touch less of the "barnyard" complexity. Very dry finish.

Bottle 07-3195 courtesy of my Secret Santa (big thanks!) Poured a light brownish color with some short-lived white head. Before sticking my nose in there, I caught a little fruitiness, perhaps apples. Upon further inspection, I got tons of sourness along with some oakiness. The taste was just wonderful, really tart but not to the point of being too acidic or astringent. Way too easy to drink, as far as Flemish sours go. A subtle fruitiness peeks in behind the big-time tartness. Finish is sour and pretty dry and crisp. As of now, this is the best sour ale I’ve had the pleasure of tasting. Jess agrees. Thanks again Santa!

Bottle 06-3812, pours a clear amber brown with a lively white head that dissipates to a whispy covering, minimal lacing. Aroma is dominated by sour cherries and apples with some oakiness, with a bit of mustiness coming out as it warms. Woof, the flavor is tart, sour and puckering, and in an oh, so good way. Lots more cherry and apple and a dryness that works well with the ample carbonation. This is my first foray into this style, and won’t be the last...

I’m really starting to enjoy this type of beer. Pours hazy yellow with creamy off white head. Aroma of citrus, light pine, and sourness. Big sourness flavor with hints of citrus throughout. To sum it up, sweet, sour, and refreshing.

75cl. thanks hopdog. Side by side comparison with Aardmonnikk-Earthmonk, Rodenbach Grand Cru, and NG Enigma. Clear light cherry red. Musty, slightly tart aroma, More gueze like aroma than Rodenbach or Aardmonnikk Taste musty, tart and not as sweet as the aardmonnikk or the rodenbach. Almost imperceptible difference between the La Folie and the Rodenbach Grand Cru except the La Folie had a little more mustiness and was slightly less sweet. Not quite as good as the Aardmonnikk but close. I’d drink it any day. Wish I had a Cuvee de Castleton to compare.

Oak aged barrel on tap at Belmont Station’s Pucker Fest. Nice, chestnut hue with a nose of candy and fruits but more oaky than other tastes I’ve had in the past. Authentic Belgian sour flavor with a sour patch kids finish. Great beer, though my tummy burned a little afterward.